2017 Clean Fifteen & Dirty Dozen

I see lots of news bites these days about the cost of – well – everything.

For me, what I notice most is the cost of food. I’ve always been picky about the quality of the foods I buy and I’ve never been a fan of sticking to a food budget. For many years I have bought as close to 100% organic veggies, fruits, herbs, spices and dry goods as I can get.

However, my wallet is squeaking these days and I’m searching for ways I can save a bit without compromising food quality.

The EWG, Environmental Working Group, puts out this great list each year of the foods with the most pesticides, and the least. I’m using this to help me choose which foods MUST be organic and which foods are safe to eat even if they’re not organic.

Anything on the dirty dozen list I will NOT buy unless it’s organic.

Here’s the 2017 Dirty Dozen list (from EWG):

Strawberries

Spinach

Nectarines

Apples

Peaches

Pears

Cherries

Grapes

Celery

Tomatoes

Sweet bell peppers

Potatoes

On the other end of the spectrum is the Clean Fifteen. Avocados and sweet corn were the options with the least amount of pesticide residues – only one per cent of samples showed any detectable pesticides.

More than 80 per cent of pineapples, papayas, asparagus, onions and cabbage had no pesticide residues either. (All of these are great in Cultured Veggies – just sayin)

Here’s the 2017 Clean Fifteen list:

Sweet corn

Avocados

Pineapples

Cabbage

Onions

Frozen sweet peas

Papayas

Asparagus

Mangoes

Eggplant

Honeydew melon

Kiwi

Cantaloupe

Cauliflower

Grapefruit

SPRING NOTE: I LOVE buying locally our farmers’ markets where I can buy food that might not be certified organic, but is chemical free, grown with love.

LOCALS NOTE: Sechelt Farmers’ Market is now open. YAY!

I hope this encourages you and makes your food shopping choices a little easier.

What are your habits and how can you make an EASY shift that would be more healthful for you and your family?